A village in the centre of Sardinia comes alive as worshippers fill it twice a year, in May and October, while during the rest of the year it brings an atmosphere of mysticism and sacredness to a place that is, in itself, magical, where the rituals of the cult of the water were celebrated for thousands of years. The church of Santa Cristina and its picturesque novenario, made up of 36 muristenes (dwellings for pilgrims), are located inside the Archaeological Nature Park of Santa Cristina, in the Paulilatino territory, four kilometres from its residential area. The charm emanating from the sanctuary lies in the union between the evidence of Nuragic, medieval and modern times, in a place that has remained an area of worship and devotion for thousands of years.
The church has undergone numerous renovations, making it impossible to reconstruct its original appearance. It probably originally had Romanesque stylistic features, traces of which remain in the oldest parts along the perimeter walls. The layout includes a single nave, with a small bell gable on the left side of the façade. You will see the façade from a rectangular square in front of it, called su corrale, while around it are the dwellings for the novena pilgrims, little stone houses with a simple and at the same time fascinating structure. The façade of one of them bears an inscription showing the year of construction: 1730. In this scenario, on the last Sunday in October, worshippers celebrate San Raffaele, while the most heartfelt celebration takes place in May, when the muristenes open for nine days, welcoming the pilgrims arriving as a sign of devotion to Santa Cristina. Tradition tells us that the saint was held prisoner and martyred in one of the nearby Nuragic constructions, giving rise to the cult and the pilgrimages of her devotees.
In fact, the church is a link between two centres of important and famous findings dating back to the Nuragic age, leading to the suspicion that the Camaldolese friars of Santa Maria di Bonarcado, who built it between the 12th and 13th centuries, wanted to break the archaic and pagan atmosphere of the Nuragic site. The ultimate sacred area is located in the first centre, surrounded by centuries-old olive trees: it is the best-preserved well temple on the Island and was built with impressive geometric precision. Inside, you can admire a vestibule, a staircase and a room with a tholos vault with concentric rings. At certain times during the year, the eternal water of the well reflects the light of the sun and the moon, creating enchanting plays of light. The temple is surrounded by a sacred enclosure, around the remains of Nuragic huts, including the main one ‘of the meetings’ with a circular seat. In the other centre, there is a single-tower nuraghe dating back to the 15th century BC - older than the well - and the traces of a vast village.
